Automobile-headlight.



C; HEINKER.

AUTOMOBILE HEADLIGHT.

APPLICATION man AUG-31. m4.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

IIVI/E/VTQR 6W fm A TTOR/VEYS Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

IN VEN TOR glTA/ESSES: 2 -2:.=....

BY M CHRISTIAN REINKER, 0F LAKEWOOD, OHIO.

AUTOMOBILE-HEADLIGHT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

f Patented Aug.31, 1915.

Application filed August'31, 1914. Serial No. 859,319.

To all whom'it may concern Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN REINKER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Lakewood, in the county of Ouyahoga and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile-Headlights, of which the following is a-specification.

This invention has reference to'an electrical illuminating system adapted, particularly, for use on automobiles and other power driven vehicles but not necessarily limited thereto, and for vehicles, the inven- -tion comprises means, first, to provide a dimmer light for use in towns and cities .where brilliant. head lights are prohibited,

and to' provide bright lights for country or suburban'districts where a search light effect is desirable, secondly, to provlde van-colored lights with both high and low illumlnation, and thirdly, to provide a shielded --light for both the dimmed and colored lamps.

In the accom anying drawings, Sheet 1 contains six di erent diagrammatic views intended to illustrate as many different combinations of lights and which correspond to the switch mechanism shown in Sheet 2.

The said diagrams are hereinafter fully described, and Figure 7, Sheet 2, is a front elevation of a common form of lamp reflector having three several lamps mounted therein according to my system. Fig. 8 is a cross section of Fig. 7 front to rear.

Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation on line m:n,

9. Fig. 11 is a plan view of the switch as a whole.

Referring, first, to the switch mechanism,

we have a nonconducting or insulating casing cjsay, of about the shape and proportion shown, and adapted to be placed within the convenient reach of the operator on the car or machine. The switch member proper,

indicated by S, is pivoted, on a cross rod or. bolt 7) ofconducting material and rotatable tcrminals at each side, indicated by 1, 2, 3,

4:, 5, 6, 7, and 8 respectively, but adapted always to be engaged in pairs. Thus, in Figs. -9 and 10, the switch is shown as in contact with the points 2 and 3 through its cross piece 10, which is of a length to men lap both said points or any other two or pa r at the same time and thus bring at least one lamp in each reflector R into circuit. Of course, I might plan to make a single contact and thus reach only one lamp,

but the system contemplates two head lights, one at each side of the vehicle, and the control of both by asingle lever or switch mem ber S. A. spiral spring a at the bottom of said swltch member holds it in any adjusted contact, here or there, and until purposely changed, A switch d-in the electric circuit, I

in Figs. 1 to 6. Now, having the complete device as herein shown, and assuming that the switch is on contacts 6 and 7, Fig. 1, we find that the two center lights 6 and 7 in the respective reflectors R are illuminated, see Fig. 1.

country travel. If the switch be thrown forward so as to contact with the points 2 and 3 directly opposite 6 and 7, the smaller or low power lamps 2 and 3' at the bottom of the respective reflectors will flow, see Flg. 2. Hence the points 2 and 3 serve for city work and the opposite points 6 and 7 for'country work. This is convenient and easy to remember and certain in operation.

galn, suppose that it is desirable to glow a red light along with a white light as an indication to persons approaching from the front that a turn of a corner or change in direction of travel is purposed, say to the left. In such case, the switch would make the red contact point 1 at the left of the series and the-point 2 next thereto and the red light 1 and while light 2' of the other reflector would glow, see Fig. 4. Or, if the machine is to turn to theright, the points 3 and 4 would be contacted and the green light 4 and white light 3 would be glowed, see Fig. 3. Other combinations follow on the opposite side of the switch. Thus, by throwing the switch onto the points 5 and 6, the central lamp 6 on one side and the red light 1 on the otherside are illuminated, see Fig. 6, and by throwing the switch onto This is the illumination for" points 7 and S the central lamp 7 and the green lamp 4' are illuminated, see Fig. 5. This gives the operator convenient command of every kind and combination .of lights he may need and all through the operation of a slngle switch lever or member. Of course the lights are supposed to be used only at night when the machine is on the road and otherwise the current is cut off by theswitch d in the circuit.

The numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are placed on the several diagrammatic views so as to trace the circuits and connections therein and which correspond to the contacts of the same numerals in Fig. 11.

Although the red and greenla'mps are perfectly darkened and invisible at the front by their opaque shields 15, the colorof the said lamp is distinctly reflected on the reflectors R so'that there is no lack of color in the light althoughthe lamp itself is invisible. There is no shield over the center lights 6 and 7.

It is to be especially noted that under my present arrangement of lamps and switches,

only one lamp is glowed at a time in each reflector. It may be the central white light in one and the colored light in the other or theshielded white light in one and the colored light in the other. Or it may be. both central lights, or both shielded white lights at the same time. In fact it will be one or the other until a turn to right or left is intended. Then the switch is shifted to bring in the colored light on the side ofthe turn and the white light on the other side, so that while there is a group of three lamps in a reflector only one lamp of the group is gloyved in any case and the others remain dar The electric circuits to the respective lamps are clearly drawn and readable in the general Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive and presumably will not need to be further traced herein.

What I claim is:

1. A system of electric lighting for .ye hicles comprising a reflector and an unshielded lamp in the center thereof and a pair of shielded lamps at its edge, one of said lamps being colored.

2. An electric illuminating system for vehicles comprising a, reflector and an un shaded lamp in the center thereof and a pair of shaded lamps in the edge of said reflector, combined with a switch adapted to throw any one of said lamps into the circuit at a time and-to exclude the others.

3. In an electric illuminating system a pair of head lights and two shaded and one unshaded lamp in each light and one of said shaded lamps in each light colored, in combination with a switch adapted to throw one lamp in each light into the circuit at the same time.- Z

4. In an electric illuminating system, a reflector and an unshaded lamp in the center thereofand a plurality of lamps in agr'oup in the edge of said reflector and provided with shields and one of said group of lamps colored, in combination with aswitch adapted to throw one of said group of lamps into the circuit at a time. p

' In testimony whereof I affix my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN REINKER.

Witnesses:

F. J. GREER, R. B. MOSER. 

